Full Circle
by justlook3
Summary: In another verse, the potential Librarians are sent home immediately after securing the Crown of King Arthur. Thanks to Ezekiel, Stone has started a new life as a college professor with a hobby farm. Cassandra, forced into a new life, decides to see the country. Until one day circumstances bring them back together and things come full circle. AU.


Before the adventure had really begun, it was all over. The Crown of King Arthur was safely resting in the Library and the three people that had survived the Serpent Brotherhood's attempts to kill them had basically been ushered out, their bank accounts slightly richer and in the case of the men plane tickets in hand.

Cassandra had tearfully hugged everyone goodbye on the sidewalk outside the public part of the Library, her hug with Stone perhaps a bit longer than the others. Colonel Baird had side eyed the Librarian as they'd been loaded into taxis, Cassandra on her way home, Jones and Stone on the way to the airport. As soon as the cab had pulled away, Jones had scoffed as he looked at his plane ticket and then asked to see Stone's. A few seconds on his phone later and Stone was booked first class on a flight to Tulsa instead of coach. Whisking through security, he was now seated at the bar in the first class lounge.

It had been a weird couple of days, but the only thing Stone regretted was not asking pretty Cassandra Cillian for her number. Not that it mattered, she lived here in New York City and he was headed back to his job in Oklahoma. His job . . .his going nowhere job that he was trapped in for the rest of his life. The thought made him tip back his whiskey and ask the bartender for another one.

"You know, air travel is dehydrating. You might want to watch it with those," came an Australian accent at his elbow.

"I thought I was done with you," Stone sighed. "Don't you have some European city to be flyin' to?" And Stone realized that his tone was bitter.

"I do. You know mate, you should come with me. I could use someone like you."

Stone chuckled but without any mirth to it. "Right."

"Seriously though," and Jones dropped his voice and motioned with his head toward a corner. Stone rolled his eyes but thanked the bartender when his refill came and followed the younger man. When they were seated, Jones started again. "Seriously though, after all of that, do you really want to go back to your job digging holes?"

"Jones, you just don't . . . ."

"Look, on that flight to Munich I did some light reading on your file. I recognized a couple of your ids from research I've done casing out artwork. You could be famous in the art world, lectures, travel. And you hide away in Nowhere Oklahoma."

"I have responsibilities. . . . ." But Stone could tell that his excuses sounded lame, especially in light of all they'd just learned and seen. "And the real me ain't got a degree."

Jones smirked and looked at his phone. "Well my flight's about to depart. I put my number in your phone. You ever decide you want to make one of those ids of yours real? Give me a ring. Well actually send me a text, but you get it."

"Why . . .why are you willin' to do that?"

Jones looked at him for a long moment. "Gotta make sure my karma is paid up in full, mate. Well, have a good life. Oh and I got her number, but I'm not gonna give it to you."

He jumped up as Stone growled at him. He looked at his phone and sure enough Jones was in the contacts. He considered deleting it but left it.

A month passed and Stone realized his costume was close to unbearable. He'd been wearing it most his life but after a few days of being himself? He found it almost too heavy to put back on. It didn't help that when he'd returned, he'd found that everyone remembered the ninjas completely differently. The version that everyone seemed to remember was that he'd gotten in a bar brawl after he'd tried to pick up the exotic girlfriend of a biker who'd taken exception. The ninjas and Colonel Baird hadn't even registered in the story, though he'd found that a couple of buddies remembered a blonde and that they'd assumed he'd been laying low for a few days with said blonde.

Life went on just as it had always gone on in his hometown. But for Jacob Stone, whose eyes had been opened to the wider world, he just couldn't live with it any longer.

So one night, taking a deep breath, he texted the thief and took a leap.

* * *

A year and a half later, Stone's career had changed. Things hadn't completely worked out smoothly, he was still working under two alter egos and his real name. But Stone had to admit, Jones had done some airtight work. He had credentials so legit that Stone almost believed he'd gone to the universities in question.

He'd left the family business, though not without a whole lot of words with his old man. But Stone had come to realize that he'd never win his father's approval so it was time to start living on his terms, no one else's.

He'd traveled and lectured for a few months, visiting the universities that he'd received honorary degrees at. Then while lecturing at a small university in Iowa, he'd gone for a drive and fallen in love with a small horse farm that was for sale. He pictured Jones in some exotic city somewhere laughing his head off at finding out that after all that, he was a Midwestern cowboy again.

But it all worked out perfectly. Stone had been writing, publishing and researching via the Internet for years, so he could live anywhere and do his work. He commuted to the small university to teach one or two classes a semester. The airport in Des Moines was a two hour drive but it was worth it for his travels.

It was the perfect life for him. Quiet, peaceful and he lived his life in the open. The people in the nearby small town called him Doc and knew him as a college professor who'd come out for the quiet and the horses.

He still got plenty of travel in, he'd come back from Paris only a week ago and he was in discussions with the university to lead a lecture trip. It was on these trips that he always kept an eye out for magic and the mysterious Librarian and Colonial Baird. He thought he might have spotted them once, early on in his travels in Shanghai, but he couldn't be certain. And sometimes he swore he'd seen the dark hair of the young Australian that had made all of this possible.

But the one person he never saw again was Cassandra Cillian. He thought of her every now and then, when there was a math theme in a piece of art, standing in Stonehedge, when he saw an article about brain tumors . . . . He hoped that she was doing well.

It was early afternoon and he'd been lost in his research until his stomach started growling. Chuckling, he'd gotten up to make himself some lunch. He was looking in his refrigerator trying to decide what he wanted to eat when he heard his dog Beau barking.

It was odd, that was the dog's "visitors" bark which seemed unusual this time a day. He was, however, expecting a package, though it shouldn't come until tomorrow. He shut the fridge and headed toward the front door, the barking getting louder and that's when he heard the knocking at the door.

He opened the door to a red haired woman wearing a short pink and black dress with a blue jacket and grey knee socks. She looked very familiar and Stone stared trying to place her.

She began talking, "oh, hi! I'm so sorry to bother you. But my car broke down a little way from your driveway. I can't seem to get any signal on my phone so I was wondering if I could use yours. It's very strange that I can't get reception because I know from the . . . ." She trailed off as he remained staring at her and their eyes met. Then her eyes widened and her mouth opened.

That's when he knew who she was.

"Cassandra? Cassandra Cillian?"

* * *

Cassandra could tell that they were about to be sent home. The boys had gone off with Charlene to fill out some paperwork but she lingered in the hallway. Flynn, a look of sorrow and concern on his face, had joined Colonel Baird in the hallway and she stepped closer to them.

"Flynn? Colonel Baird? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Cassandra, it's time for you to go home," sighed the Librarian.

"I know, but I have to warn you."

The Colonel's attention suddenly was focused on her. "Warn us of what?"

"They came to me, before you did. . . .But I'm not gonna do it. But they still might, you need to know . . . ."

Flynn and Baird looked confused but the blonde woman held up her hand. "Slow down, Cassandra. Who came to you?"

"The Serpent Brotherhood. Lamia and a British man wearing a hat. They approached me a couple of days before you came to the hospital. They told me . . .they told me that they could cure me and that they could help all of the people who science can't save."

"Oh, Cassandra," Flynn's tone was kind. "You know that Serpents lie."

She nodded, tears pricking her eyes. "But I so wanted to believe them, that they would help me. I said I would help them but . . . . Meeting you all, learning that magic is cool but dangerous, seeing this wonderful place . . . not to mention . . .I didn't know about the murders. About how Stone and Ezekiel and I were the only ones left. They're not the good guys. But I didn't know . . . .so I said I would help."

"Have you done anything?" Baird asked, her tone serious but still kind.

She shook her head. "I started to, I did some things to the wiring on the security system when we came. But then we were off and I never finished it. And I won't. But they'll be here at 3pm and I'm scared. What if I did too much and they can get in? Or you guys get hurt? Or they come after me for not helping after all?"

Flynn and Baird exchanged glances. Flynn smiled softly at her. "What you did was perfect. They'll think you were caught by us. We can spring a trap on them. But we need to get you and others out of here before that happens."

Baird looked over at Flynn, "you know this group. Is her life in danger?"

Flynn winced. "Possibly. She was targeted for manipulation not death because of her tumor. They probably don't think of her as much of a threat. And if they think we took care of her, they might not even notice her. I'd double lock your doors for a while Cassandra and if there's more of a threat, we'll be in touch."

Cassandra nodded, feeling once more a little dismissed. She got the impression that the men felt the same way but she was the only one who knew exactly why they were hustled so quickly out of the Library. She also could tell that Colonel Baird didn't completely like the idea of sending them all away, but the Librarian worked on his own and it was his place to make the call. She hugged them all tears in her eyes, knowing she'd never see these people again despite them all being bound by the adventure of a lifetime. She lingered just a little in the arms of the cowboy who had treated her like a person for the first time in years. She didn't miss how his gaze had lingered longer over her than the others when finally they all parted. She in a cab heading home and the men in a cab heading to the airport.

She desperately hoped as the cab pulled away that the Library would be safe and magic would remain out of the hands of evil.

Two days later, a package arrived at her apartment. A letter from Flynn saying that that the Serpents plans had been foiled thanks to her warnings. A note from Baird saying that she needed to lie low for a while, just in case. Inside the envelope was a whole new identity for her, a new credit card, a new bank account, a passport and a ticket to of all places: Portland, Oregon. She'd been let go from her job for not showing up during the Munich mission, so she had no real reason to stick around. She packed up a suitcase, gave notice to her roommates (as well as the check that had been in the package for the rest of her share of the rent for year) and headed to the airport.

In Portland, a quiet older man named Jenkins was waiting for her holding a sign with her new name "Cassie McArthur." He drove her in his old station wagon to her new apartment. She quickly found a job in a nice bookstore cafe and settled in quite happily for a while.

But after six months or so, she began to feel restless. She now knew that the world was so big, so magical, so much was out there. And she'd started a new life but it wasn't much different than the old one. Sure she had no money concerns, her headaches were not as bad as they'd been oddly and she loved her job and co-workers. But she still wasn't going anywhere. Just basically waiting for her death, just like before.

She'd only signed on for a six month lease so she didn't renew, gave two week's notice at her job, informed Jenkins of her plans and bought a car. Everything she owned went into the car and she set out to see the world. Starting with North America.

A year had passed. She was still exploring North America, a week here, a month there, sometimes more than that. She'd stayed in a variety of places from roadside motels to the couches of nice people she'd met on her travels. She'd worked in a diner in Colorado for three months and had lived in a room above the place. She was set for money, really, she didn't need much living like she did. And somehow there was always something in her account, she assumed it was thanks to Flynn.

She was heading through Iowa, making her way to the East Coast with no particular destination in mind when Beatrice, her car, started making concerning noises. When she'd pulled over onto a wide shoulder, she realized she couldn't get the car to restart. Good at science and math she might be, she was no mechanic and wasn't sure what of a number of things was wrong with the car. Oddly, despite knowing she wasn't that far from a cell tower, she couldn't get a signal on her cell phone. A few feet from where her car was she could see a driveway. Taking a deep breath, she decided to see where that led.

The driveway was long and gravel and she was glad she'd opted for Converse today as she picked her way toward the farmhouse she could see ahead of her. It was small but appeared well kept and she hoped that the owners were home.

A dog started barking as she got closer to the house though she couldn't see the dog until she was practically at the front door. The dog continued to bark, bouncing at the fence, though it was far enough from her to not give her much cause for concern.

She could hear a voice inside yelling, "quit it Beau," as the man opened the door. She figured that was the dog's name. The voice seemed really familiar as did the man who finally came into view, the expression on his face confused.

She started explaining what she'd come up to the house for, but stopped as she realized he was still staring at her. When she met his eyes, it all clicked . . .a henge in the Black Forest, focus on a memory, that's a girl. . . .

"Cassandra?" the man asked. "Cassandra Cillian?"

She hadn't answered to that name in so long that it took a minute for it to register. She blinked at him and nodded.

"Stone? Jacob Stone?"

"Yes!" he grinned at her, excited. "Well I'll be. I never expected to see you again. Let alone in . . . ."

"Iowa," Cassandra finished. "I thought you were from Oklahoma?"

"I am . . . it's a long story. Come on in, so your car broke down? The signal on the road can be a bit iffy, it's fine up here, most of the time." He stepped out of the door way and ushered her inside. "You hungry? I was just about to make lunch."

Cassandra thought about declining but really she was hungry. And she didn't have an agenda, any place she needed to be. Though all her belongings were down on the road.

"I am and I'd love to catch up over lunch but I'd hate to leave my car down there. Everything I own is in it."

A concerned frown passed across Stone's face and she quickly started to explain.

"Oh, I'm not homeless or anything. I mean except in a manner of speaking. I'm. . .I know it sounds silly but I'm seeing the world. Gave up my apartment, bought a car and I've been traveling for about a year now. Haven't gotten out of North America yet, but it's a big continent."

The frown changed to a smile. "Yeah, I kinda know how that goes. Well, let me see what I can do with your car."

Stone had grabbed his tools on the way down to the car and after some work he managed to get the car started.

"You're gonna have to see a mechanic before you go too far, but at least we can get it up to the house."

Soon they were sitting down to a delicious pasta salad that Stone had made. "You gave me an excuse to actually throw this together. I meant to make it, boiled the pasta but sometimes I get sidetracked writing and just grab a quick sandwich."

He grew almost all the vegetables in the garden out back and it was eye opening to Cassandra despite her year on the road.

"So how did you end up here?" Cassandra asked.

Jacob looked down at his plate for a moment. "Well, after the Library, I tried to go back to my normal life. But I just . . .my eyes were opened to the world and I couldn't hide from it any longer. So Jones . . . ."

"You talk to Ezekiel? How is he?"

Jacob shrugged. "I haven't heard from him in over a year. It was a one shot offer. He offered to help me start a new life. And as much as I hated askin' him for help, I picked up the phone. He helped me combine my alter egos and gave me credentials. I have honorary degrees at a variety of universities so I headed off to actually visit them. Started givin' lectures, travelin' for a while. Then bout a year ago, I was giving a guest lecture at private college not that far from here. I had some time to kill so I took a drive and this place was for sale. I fell in love with it and I bought it. It's two hours to Des Moines so I still travel, I teach a class or two a semester at the college and I write and research. It's pretty much the perfect life."

Cassandra smiled. "So even though you didn't stay at the Library, you still became well the you you always wanted to be."

He nodded. "You could say that. Is that what you're doin'?"

Cassandra took a deep breath. Wondered how much she should tell him. He'd probably notice when he went with her into town that her name had changed. His eyes were kind as he looked at her across the table and she remembered how he'd treated her like a person not like an invalid or math girl.

"Before Colonel Baird and Flynn found me, the Serpent Brotherhood had."

Stone gasped but otherwise he was silent, looking at her, his expression unreadable.

"They asked me to disable the security at the Library, they told me that they'd be able to cure me. I was desperate and scared and they were handing me what I've wanted since I was 15 years old."

Stone cocked his head, "but . . . ."

She shook hers. "I said I would. I planned on doing it. I even started to," she held out her fingers. "Just a little bit. But then we were off to Munich. And the doubts I had about them kept getting stronger and stronger. And I didn't know they'd killed all of those people, Stone, I had no clue! But then they tried to kill all of us and I'm not so sure they wouldn't have just killed me in the crossfire. I realized they had no intention of helping me. So I told Flynn and Baird what they had asked me to do. The Serpents were due to attack that afternoon."

Stone's fork clattered. "Is that why they rushed us outta there like that? We could have helped!"

Cassandra nodded. "For what it's worth, I don't think the Colonel agreed with Flynn. But I don't know what happened. Flynn told me that what I'd done was perfect because he could lure them into a trap. I got a package two days later with a letter from Flynn. All he said was that thanks to me the Library was safe. But Colonel Baird's note was a little scarier. They'd created a new life and id for me. I'm Cassie McArthur now. And they sent me to Portland. There's an old man out there named Jenkins, I think he might work for the Library. He set me up in a new place, got me a job."

"Man, Cassandra . . . that's . . .wow. "

"If the Serpent Brotherhood really is looking for me, they haven't tried very hard honestly. After six months, I got antsy. Nothing had really changed. I loved Portland, have you been?"

"No, not yet."

"You'd love it! It's so pretty. But I realized that even though my outlook on life was much more positive, I was still sitting around waiting for death. And if I learned anything from that adventure it's that I have to live my life while I still have it. Jenkins gave me his blessing and I bought Beatrice and hit the road. It's been a crazy, amazing year and here I am in your farmhouse. How crazy is that?"

"As crazy as magic being real," Jacob said standing up to clear the plates.

"Are you angry with me?" Cassandra asked softly following him into the kitchen. "You've been very quiet."

"No, not really," Stone said, taking her plate. "You didn't go through with it and you told Flynn and Baird in time to warn them. And I guess I can understand why you were tempted. I can't imagine what it's like for you . . . . I think I'm just a bit shocked. You didn't seem like the type to be hiding a secret like that."

"It didn't take me very long to realize that I should be on the Library's side."

"Yeah," Jacob stared at her a long time regarding her. "You could have gotten cured."

"If they kept their promise, but you saw what they were like. My eyes were opened. I've had nightmares about doing what they asked and them killing me the moment they saw me. After they'd killed all of you . . . and worse things."

"Cassie . . . ."

"It's okay. I made the right choice. My life will be short. But thanks to the Library, the rest of it will be wonderful."

Soon after, Jacob and Beau followed her into town where the mechanic told her that it would take at least two days to get the necessary part. Stone offered her a place to stay for a couple of days. She ended up sleeping on his fold out couch because while he had more than one bedroom, he never had guests so had no beds for them. And Beau had taken to sleeping on the couch with her by day two.

Jacob introduced her to his horses. She helped him weed the garden. They talked about everything and nothing for the four days it took for her car to be fixed. On day five, even though she could be on her way, she found herself driving with him into his college town. She explored the town while he taught and had his office hours. That evening they had dinner in the college town before heading back.

Stone was pretty sure this counted as a date, especially when she took his hand as they took a post dinner stroll. They should be heading back to his house, but neither was in any rush to go back.

He stopped her under a streetlight in the park, pulling on her hand. "Cassie, what's going on between us?"

"I don't know, but I really like it."

"I do too, but you're hittin' the road and I don't wanna keep you."

She shook her head. "I have no place to be, Jacob. I had no plans except to head East. I can stay."

Then she leaned up and kissed him. After another week, she moved into his bedroom. By the end of the month, she'd completely unpacked her car.

By the end of six months, after a text to Ezekiel, a degree was added to Cassie McArthur's resume. Soon she was teaching mathematics at the liberal arts school. They raised horses and grew their own vegetables. They traveled the world either for Jacob's lectures or just because they wanted to. And they fell more in love.

One afternoon, after nearly a year together, Jacob came up with the mail into the spare bedroom Cassandra had claimed as her workspace.

"Hey darlin'," he leaned over and kissed her where she was working at her desk on some complicated equation. "You won't believe where I've been asked to lecture." He held out the invitation to her.

"Munich! That's the museum where . . . ."

"The adventure began. Full circle, what do you say sweetheart? Wanna go?"

Three weeks later, they were happily kissing outside of the museum. Jacob's lecture had been a great success.

They were interrupted by a sound that sounded like slow clapping.

"Well, what do you know, I came for a lecture, got a free show."

"Ezekiel!" Cassandra exclaimed, excitedly hugging him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and I figured you know that I'd see how my handiwork turned out. Kinda thought you two were together after you asked me to get you into that same college. You'll have to tell me what's up with that new name later. Maybe after the drink you're buying me?"

Stone laughed. "You haven't changed a bit. But hey, why not?"

"Seriously though," Ezekiel was saying as they walked down the street looking for a quiet bar. "Iowa? All the places in the world and you two live on a farm in Iowa."

"It's wonderful there," Cassandra squeezed Jacob's hand. "We're happy. We're free. And we see the world."

"Whatever . . . ."Ezekiel's voice trailed off as he saw something big move past. "Did you see that?"

"That looked like a . . ." Stone said.

"Dragon," finished Cassandra.

The three of them exchanged looks and then looked around. As if on cue, the Librarian and his Guardian came running into the courtyard in front of them.

"Oh my God," said Baird, coming to a stop. Noting Jacob and Cassandra's entwined hands and Ezekiel standing behind them. "Well, we'll have to catch up. We've got something."

"Yeah, we saw," said Stone.

"Hi!" exclaimed Flynn. "Hey, did you see where it went?"

The threesome pointed and the pair ran off.

Cassandra could hear Ezekiel counting and turned to look at him.

On the count of four, Flynn bounced back in front of them. "Actually we could use your help. You in?"

"Oh hell yes," came from Jacob.

"Sure," from Cassandra.

"It's a bloody dragon mate, of course I'm in."

Two years later, the now newlywed Jacob and Cassandra had new careers. Thanks to Jenkins' invention of the Back Door, they still lived their happy life on their farm in Iowa. But now they saved the world once a week, twice before Friday as Librarians.

Which is what the Library had always intended.

The End


End file.
